honey & buttermilk panna cotta

As much as I love cookbooks, I adore cooking magazines - my absolute favourites being delicious, Australian Gourmet Traveller (if you hadn't already noticed), and Donna Hay. Having a collection of your own personal cookbooks is obviously a necessity, but there's just something about receiving a new, shiny collection of seasonal recipes every month that gets me excited like a five year old on Christmas morning. My boyfriend usually checks the mail, and after he hand delivers me a copy of my newly arrived subscription, my reading ritual is to rip the packet open and immediately flick through the pages, just once through. I "oooh" and I "aaaah" out loud, but then put it down. It's not until I have a cup of tea, and at least half an hour to myself that I sit down and pour over the recipes. Admittedly, some issues appeal to me more thank others, but there is always one or two recipes that simply scream "COOK ME, EAT ME!". In the October/November issue of Donna Hay, the recipes in the entire magazine were all fighting for my attentions.

Out of all of the Summery recipes, Donna Hay's recipe for honey & buttermilk panna cotta has won my heart for the most immediately appealing recipe, which brings me to my third honey recipe for the week. It is so incredibly simple and quick, perfect for a weeknight dessert. Or an any-night dessert, in fact. Just remember to factor in setting time, which is really quite quick.


I dedicate this post to my dear friend Chris as, for some unexplainable reason, panna cottas always remind me of him. So Chris: Get you blog up and running already, forgoodnesssake!

Ingredients (makes 4)
Recipe from Donna Hay

1 tsp gelatine powder
2 tbsps water
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup pouring cream
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
1 tbsp honey

Sprinkle gelatine over water in a bowl, then stir to combine. Set aside for 5 minutes until the gelatine is absorbed.

Place the buttermilk, cream, sugar and vanilla bean and seeds in a small saucepan over medium heat, and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add the gelatine and cook, stirring for 2 - 3 minutes until the gelatine has dissolved. Strain and allow to cool completely.

Place 1 tsp honey in the bases of four 1/2 cup capacity glasses. Pour over the cooled cream mixture and refrigerate for at least two hours until set.

I love the texture buttermilk gives to cakes, but this was the first instance I'd used the gorgeous ingredient for anything unbaked. In this instance, it's perfect - the sticky sweetness of the honey lingering at the bottom of the glass is broken up perfectly by the tartness of the buttermilk.

As I previously mentioned, this is really quick recipe to whip up, which makes the final product even sweeter.

Recommended baking soundtrack: Horse Feathers - House With No Home.